Philip Saunders has been appointed chief commercial officer at Air Malta with immediate effect. He is responsible for leading all commercial activity on a day-to-day basis and spearheading Air Malta's restructuring in these areas.

The cabin service and ground handling departments will now form part of the commercial department, in line with Air Malta's vision to deliver consistently excellent service, tailored to the needs of the Maltese market and meeting the airline's commercial objectives.

The commercial department also includes sales and marketing, distribution and e-business, revenue management, network planning and commercial agreements.

Mr Saunders joins Air Malta with a strong track record built up over 20 years in the industry, with significant experience in turnaround situations.

Most recently, he was CEO at Caribbean Airlines, where he delivered a sustained transformation of the customer experience and achieved profitability one year ahead of plan.

His previous roles include commercial director at Star Alliance, delivering commercial advantage for the member carriers forming the world's largest and most successful airline alliance.

As EVP commercial at SN Brussels Airlines, Mr Saunders worked closely with Air Malta CEO Peter Davies in establishing an effective commercial and operational platform following the collapse of Sabena, and in creating a profitable business against market expectations.

He also served in several senior positions at British Airways over 13 years, including management roles in Russia and Switzerland, as well as commercial director at Deutsche BA, a subsidiary airline based in Germany.